bibliographer
AmericanEtymology
Origin of bibliographer
1650–60; < Greek bibliográph ( os ) book-writer ( see biblio-, -graph) + -er 1
Explanation
If you’ve decided to read everything Shakespeare ever wrote, or are looking for the best books on American basketball for a research paper, you’ll appreciate that some bibliographer somewhere has probably made a list suitable for each of those two projects. A professional bibliographer makes lists of published writings, including when and where they were published and sometimes giving notes on each one. The list, called a bibliography, might be all of a certain author's works, or all the most important works on a certain topic. The Greek roots of both words are biblion, "book," and graphos, "something drawn or written." Whenever you make a list of all the resources you consulted for an essay, you’re making a bibliography and acting as an amateur bibliographer yourself.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The heir contacted Lucio Aquilanti, a Buenos Aires antiquarian bookseller, and a prominent Cortázar bibliographer, who confirmed the piece’s authenticity.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 12, 2023
Two of this volume’s other essays closely consider the value of association copies — that is, copies with a noteworthy provenance — and the principles that guide a bibliographer.
From Washington Post • Nov. 10, 2022
At one point, there was one “Five Roses” cookbook for every four Canadian households, said Ms. Driver, the bibliographer.
From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2018
Colin Stanley, Wilson's publisher and bibliographer, said the writer and philosopher never fully recovered from a stroke in 2011.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2013
The word “chapbook” has not been noticed earlier than 1824, when Dibdin, the celebrated bibliographer, described a work as being “a chapbook, printed in rather a neat black-letter.”
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
